Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has obtained a stay of execution on a High Court order to pay US$1.3 billion (RM5.11 billion) in damages to SRC International Sdn Bhd, pending the disposal of his appeal against the judgment.
Judge Ahmad Fairuz Zainal Abidin, in his verdict today, said Naijb had successfully proven that there were special circumstances to grant a stay.
These special circumstances include the proceedings instituted by the Inland Revenue Board against Najib, as well as fines imposed against the former Pekan MP that arose from criminal convictions linked to the 1MDB scandal.
“This court is satisfied that special circumstances exist, which justify the grant of a stay of execution of the judgment.
“It is best that the case is finally determined at the highest level, before any enforcement is allowed… this is how the other matters have been dealt with.
“This court is of the considered view that the balance of justice leans in the favour of the grant of stay (as) the plaintiff’s entitlement to the fruits of the judgment is not extinguished, (but) it is deferred pending the determination of the appeal.
“The defendant (Najib), on the other hand, would suffer irreversible prejudice if execution were to proceed,” said Fairuz in reading his verdict during an online proceeding at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
The court, on March 31, had ordered Najib to repay SRC US$1.18 billion for losses suffered by the company after finding that the former prime minister had committed misfeasance.
Fairuz, in the same judgment, also ordered Najib to repay US$120 million of SRC funds that had been credited into his personal account.
In today’s proceedings, the judge also ordered Najib to pay RM2 million in costs to the plaintiff’s solicitors and RM150,000 in costs to each third-party solicitor.
Suit to recover 1MDB losses
The civil action, filed in 2021, is part of SRC and related entities’ efforts to recover billions lost in transactions linked to the wider 1MDB scandal.
The suit was originally filed with Najib and six others, who were the company’s former directors, named as defendants. SRC had then removed the other names from the suit, leaving Najib as the sole defendant.
However, in 2022, Najib obtained leave from the court to issue third-party notices to the six individuals, namely Suboh Yassin, Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, Azhar Osman Khairuddin, Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, Ismee Ismail, and Che Abdullah @ Rashidi Che Omar, who were then added back into the suit. - Mkini
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